Psychopsis Mendenhall 'Hildos' Spike or Bulb?
 

I purchased this Psychopsis from an Ebay vendor last summer. When delivered, it looked weird...the leaves were growing in awkward positions, the pseudobulbs were incredibly shriveled, and there was only one spindly root. I repotted the little thing and then waited for any sign of new growth. There was none... so after 6 weeks I repotted it again in the same media, but at a different angle and once again waited for a sign of life. I tried a little Superthrive and KLN, watered as the media approached dryness using only rain water, and placed her in early morning eastern exposure and still nothing. My thought was, that she was not getting enough moisture because of her poor root system. She had a spike when I received her. It grew a little, and produced one flower before eventually drying out and dying. Then the leaves began getting brittle and falling off, so I removed the dried up spike to encourage new growth.

A few months ago I moved her to a nearby table in a shadier location and observed her condition. She appeared to be on her way to orchid heaven. I didn't know if there was any hope, but I continued to water and occasionally fertilize her with a weak solution of fish emulsion fertilizer.

Spring forward in time to today. My plants have been indoors (protected from the cold) for well over a week. With warming temperatures forcasted, I began moving all my babies back to their original outdoor locations. My healthier plants went out first followed in line by the more needy ones who received an extra check-up before their transition.

As I was examining my Psychopsis, I was :shock: to discover 2 new growths at the base of her largest completely shriveled pseudobulb. :faint: :love: Because she has never produced any growth for me I don't know what these are. Can anyone tell by these photos if I've got Bulbs or Spikes? I'm hoping for bulbs this time because in her current condition a spike would probably kill her. In addition I'm toying with the idea of mounting her on grapewood. How much growth should appear before attempting this transition? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. :)

At this stage I can't tell but they seem to be putting out new growths at this time. Mine also has 2 new growths. One piece of advice; do not move it. They do not like to be disturbed at all. We'll know for sure in about a week. Mine is also in spaghnum and since I got it it has produced 3 new growths and 2 spikes. I water it every 6 days or so. Good luck and it'll be great to see what they turn out to be. Let's hope for bulbs rather than spikes.